Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER THREE THE UNPLEASANT OLD PARTY SURPRISES HIS AUNT Two days after Belinda's visit to Winsted, she received a letter written in a man's hand and upon hotel stationery. She hurried to Miss Barnes's room with it at the close of school. " Margaret, here's another eleventh-hour sacrifice. Mr. John Courtney wants to join my party, of which he has heard through relatives, and if I can make room for him will I kindly tell him when we will sail and let him know what amount to remit to me. Apparently his mind is quite made up. It's only a question of will I, won't I. He doesn't seem to care what the trip will cost." "Probably his relatives have told him the terms." "Yes, I suppose that's it. Funny he didn't mention who they are — as references, you know. He says, though, that I may write to the President of the First National Bank if I require references." "You'd better do it," advised Miss Barnes. "Useless, my dear; perfectly useless. His wanting to go with us is a guarantee that he's old and doddering and guileless. If he had initiative enough to be bad,wild horses couldn't force him into such a party. Probably he's dreadful. I love old ladies but I don't like old men. They're usually peevish. I suppose it's because a man isn't trained to resignation as a woman is and when he finally has to give up it goes hard with him. And then old ladies get neater and neater and old men get untidier and untidier. I won't have him!" "Belinda,you can't afford to throw away the money — and he'll hobnob with Mr. Perkins." "That's a fact. Perhaps two will be better than one. They can quarrel with each other. I'll write to Mr. John Courtney and tell him that he's a horrid old thing and that I already detest him but that I'll put up with him for the sake of his money and ple...